Celebrating the One Year Anniversary of the "Lowe Election District Falun Dafa Day" in Sydney

By a practitioner in Sydney

(Clearwisdom.net)

On October 12, 2002, Falun Gong practitioners celebrated the one-year anniversary of the "Lowe Election District Falun Dafa Day". The celebration was held at the Strathfield Square in Sydney, Australia.

A large yellow banner with blue letters saying "Celebrating Falun Dafa Day" was used as the backdrop, and under the banner were three big beautiful pink lotus flowers. On the left side of the stage there was an exhibition of over twenty traditional Chinese paintings and photographs of Falun Dafa practitioners around the world. A local practitioner, Zhang Cuiying, who specializes in traditional Chinese art, created the paintings.

As the festivities started at noon, there were performances in music, dancing, and singing. Young students from Minghui School also performed Falun Gong exercises. These performances showcased the magnificence of Falun Dafa and the many talents of practitioners. Many people enjoyed them and one local resident even mentioned, "The music and songs composed by Falun Gong practitioners are so very beautiful". After the performance, he gladly signed his name on the postcard to Prime Minister Howard asking for his support for Falun Dafa.

Former mayor of Burwood, Councilor Joseph Tannous and Councillor Michael Cantali were guest speakers at the event. "A year ago, I started to understand what Falun Gong is," Councilor Tannous said. "Yet such a wonderful cultivation method is being persecuted in China. We have the freedom to practice Falun Gong in Australia, and I am privileged to be the first person in Australia to welcome Falun Dafa Day. I will write to Prime Minister Howard to urge him to condemn the persecution of Falun Gong in China. I will continue to speak out for the human rights and the freedom of Falun Gong practitioners. I will always support Falun Dafa, and never yield to outside interference and threats." Mr. Tannous then happily signed his name on the postcard to ask the Prime Minister to help stop the persecution.

"I completely support Falun Gong practitioners and their fight to preserve their basic human rights and freedom, and the freedom of belief," Councilor Michael Cantali said. "Every country and every ethical group in the world should enjoy these freedoms. We need 'Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance' right here. I hope all of our city government workers could bring 'Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance' to work everyday." Mr. Cantali indicated he would personally contact the Prime Minister for his support on Falun Dafa. He also signed the postcard to Prime Minister Howard. Accompanying Councilor Cantali, Mrs. Cantali also attended the celebration. "Falun Gong practitioners have continued to fight for human rights using their own resources and money," Mrs. Cantali said. "Your work is hard and admirable. By continuing your efforts, the world will eventually understand the truth about Falun Gong and the facts on the persecution of Falun Gong."

The two Councillors and Ms. Ruth Chong cut the ribbon for the one-year anniversary celebration of the "Falun Dafa Day". Ms. Chong is well known among local Chinese; she was awarded the MBE from British Queen Elizabeth II.

Throughout the day, many people were attracted by the exhibition of Chinese paintings. People were shocked to find out that the Jiang regime had illegally detained such a distinguished and talented artist for eight months. Many people expressed their condemnation toward the Jiang government via postcards to the Prime Minister, asking him to support the human rights of Falun Gong practitioners and help stop the persecution.

Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2002/10/14/37991.html

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